The rituals for the entry of young men and women into adulthood are very diverse and exotic.
Such traditions have been preserved in society for many centuries. Farewell to childhood, the transition to puberty and the emergence of people have always been somehow celebrated, since they were considered a very important milestone in the life of every person. But these rituals sometimes look exotic and even barbaric for us …
DRUG TESTING
Now the overwhelming majority of Algonquins live in Quebec (Canada). They feel comfortable and at ease there, but civilized Indians still use some ancient rituals today.
Growing up Algonquian Indians boys for the initiation ritual are specially taken to a secluded place (often fenced off and guarded by adult members of the tribe) in order to experience the Visokkan in the ritual.
It is a very difficult ordeal when boys are forced to use a very powerful drug called visokkan. This is a very powerful hallucinogen, in its properties it is 100 times (!!!) superior to the famous drug LSD.
This risky ritual has a specific purpose: to knock out all childhood memories from the boy! Often, boys lose all their memory, and they not only do not remember their parents, but even lose, in the literal sense, the gift of speech. After passing such a test, the teenagers are returned to their home. However, if later it turns out that childhood memories are still preserved, the boy is taken away again for another temple-kan. And so it can be repeated several times.
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Fortunately, drug addicts are not held in high esteem in the Algonquin tribe. But some can no longer refuse to take severe hallucinogens. After all, even LSD killed thousands of men, and Visokkan is a more evil potion.
HIGH ALTITUDE DIVING
The Republic of Vanuatu, as the encyclopedia tells us, is a state located on the islands of the New Hebrides (Espiritu Santo, Ambrim, Efate and others; about 80 islets in total), in the southwestern part of the Pacific Ocean; and covers an area of only 12.2 thousand square meters. km.
Here, among the aborigines of some tribes, the custom has been preserved to celebrate the birth of the harvest and see adolescents into adulthood in a special way, in which young men get a real chance to prove their courage to everyone and demonstrate courage.
This custom is honored on the island of Pentecost. Inhabitants of the tribes set up a tower in the clearing, built from improvised means (bush branches and reeds), its height is 30 meters. And from this tower, young men, tied to a special beam with a grass rope to their shins, jump downside down towards the ground. During the jump, the human body reaches a speed of 72 km / h. A jump is considered correct when the jumper almost touches the ground with his head. And, unlike bungee jumping, the tied rope here does not stretch or cushion. Any incorrect calculation of the rope length is fatal.
Boys are trained for this jump from the age of 7 when they are circumcised. First, the boy jumps from his mother's hands, and the rope is in her hands. At the age of 10 and beyond - boys jump from a small turret 2-5 meters. Note that all the boys of the tribe are forbidden to have sexual intercourse with a girl before the main leap of their lives - this is considered a very bad omen.
RUN ON BULLS AND COWS
In Ethiopia, in the Harmar tribe, a race on the back of bulls and cows serves as a pass into adulthood for boys. Moreover, in the herd of cattle, which is used as a treadmill, there are only castrated bulls and cows. In this competition, young men are required not so much courage as cold calculation and dexterity.
A young man who has managed to run on the backs of cows four times in a row is considered to have passed the test. Believe me, this is very difficult. Cows and bulls do not stand still, and many generally try to avoid contact with humans. A crowd of spectators gathers around the herd, they shout and make noise, frightening the cattle.
Those who pass the test receive the rank of Maz. This title gives the young man the right to take part in organizing this test for younger members of the Harmar tribe himself and to participate in the hunt on an equal basis with other adult men.
WILD BEINGS
Okieki live in Kenya. In this tribe, the initiation rite is one for boys and for girls who have reached the age of puberty, that is, for adolescents 14-16 years old. True, for different sexes, the rite is carried out separately after the obligatory circumcision in boys and pruning in girls. After this painful operation, girls and boys are taken to a special secluded place where teenagers live for 4-24 weeks, surrounded by several caregivers of the same sex.
Boys and girls decorate themselves with special colored clay and other natural dyes, thus transforming themselves into the wild creature semaasiisyek. During this period, adult educators pass on important secrets and knowledge to them that are useful in their adult life. But the most important knowledge among the Okieks concerns the cemaasiit - a mythical animal that hunts for adolescents undergoing initiation rites. The next night, all the young people pour out into the forest or steppe with pipes and pipes, emitting a strong roar that scares away evil spirits from them.
This turmoil continues all night, and in the morning the teenagers are already congratulated on entering adulthood. From that day on, they have the right to choose their bride or groom, whom they must present for their parents' approval. And from that day on, young people have the right to decorate their bodies with all kinds of piercings and tattoos, like their adult tribesmen.
Dedication to femininity
Such a ritual in the toucan tribe living in the northwestern part of the Amazon is called the festival of Mocas Novas (Festa das Mocas Novas). The initiation period begins when the first menstruation occurs. Then the girl is accommodated in a special room, which is prepared in advance for this event in a hut or house where her whole family lives.
All this time, the tribe believes that the girl's soul moves to the other world, where she is endangered by the evil spirits of Noo. The culmination of the ceremony is considered to be a visit to the house of the initiated girl by guests, some of them wear colorful masks depicting the embodiment of Noo spirits.
Then the girl's body is completely covered with black dye extracted from the genipap fruit. This paint, according to the toucan tribe, protects the girl from the spell of the Noo spirits. And in this form, the girl remains for two more days. And on the morning of the third day, she solemnly appears before the eyes of her parents and relatives.
And then all family members arrange a holiday with treats for guests: the dance festival continues all night until dawn. While dancing around the fire, the tribal shaman gives the girl a special fire emblem, which she must throw into the fire. This gesture means that the girl broke Noo's evil will and entered the time when she is allowed to marry and have children, having started her own family. The girl becomes a full member of the tribe and the continuer of the clan. She is congratulated and given gifts (mostly jewelry and colorful clothes).
BULLET ANT TEST
The Amazonian tribe of the Sateremave Indians uses a simple mitten for the initiation ceremony for adolescent boys. And yet, such a ceremony is considered very dangerous to health and quite painful.
The mitten, which the young man must pull on his hand, is filled with bullet ants, whose venom is 20 times stronger than the bite of an ordinary wasp. I think you can now imagine the pain of a teenager as he goes through this initiation rite.
For this purpose, adult members of the tribe collect bullet ants in the jungle for several weeks, which are then stored in a certain solution, where they hibernate, preserving their poison. On a certain day, the men of the tribe gather around a common fire, and the boys pull on a mitten with ants on their hand. Then they go to the fire, where they dance. Many boys lose consciousness during the ceremony, and their bodies shake in convulsions. The pain of an ant bite lasts for at least 24 hours. But the most curious thing is that adolescents in ecstasy put on the mitten several times, trying to prove their courage and fearlessness to their fellow tribesmen.